Our Work, Roots & Vision

Chapter House Journal is an Indigenous-centered online literary journal committed to publishing and uplifting Indigenous thought and language. We understand Indigenous literature as an expansive living practice, one shaped by relation to land, to language, to kinship, to memory. These relations inform not only the work we publish, but also how we approach editorial collaboration and the structures through which Indigenous writing reaches readers. 

We want to make space for work that is still becoming: writing that takes risks, art that asks new questions, experiments with language and form, and creative practices rooted in the relationships, histories, places, and communities that shape Native life. This might include poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, personal essays, visual art, photography, sound art, interviews, collaborative projects, translations, experimental writing, or work that does not fit neatly into a single category. 

We are interested in pieces that move between Native languages and English; engage oral traditions, family histories, archives, and community knowledge; experiment with visual or sonic form; or explore relationships to land, identity, memory, and belonging.

Housed within the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Low Residency MFA Program, we publish issues on a biannual basis; all submissions, including solicitations, are read by our editorial team, which includes IAIA MFA students and faculty advisors. Our editors also manage publication decisions, website design, and blog content.